A YOUNG artist from Droitwich is getting ready to take on a 20-hour painting challenge to raise money for a charity supporting people with eating disorders.

17-year-old Charlotte Cree is a keen artist, and has been suffering with anorexia nervosa since she was 15. Last year she entered an inpatient specialist eating disorder unit where she stayed for the next eight months, finally being discharged in May of this year, and now she’s keen to give something back through the charity ‘beat’ which provides helplines for adults and young people, as well as online support and a number of self-help groups.

She said: “There is so much stigma around not only mental health, but eating disorders in general, and I want to change that. They are nobody's choice, they are not a diet and they are deadly. Every moment of my life is controlled by this feeling that I don't deserve anything and I'm worthless, leading me and so many others into the dangerous grip of an eating disorder.

“I hated myself so much that last year prior to my hospital admission, I was going days without even a sip of water. Our weekends were spent in A&E, being told that I was doing it to myself so they couldn't classify it as an emergency, despite being unable to stand, in a wheelchair and dipping in and out of consciousness and terrified to sip water.

“It makes me so angry and upset when people call it a teenage girl's dieting problem, because not only does it have nothing to do with diets, but also that there are also so many boys, women and men who have eating disorders; but they can't speak out about it because society has already categorised such disorders to be a girl problem. I want to change that.”

Charlotte has an art business which she runs through her ‘Charlotte Cree’s Artwork’ Facebook page, and she will be taking on her 20 hour painting challenge on Saturday, August 8 through the day and night, with the resulting artwork being auctioned off to add to her fundraising total.

She added: “I am a young media volunteer for Beat, so I know how much effort they go to in order to raise awareness, set up support groups, helplines, school talks, media opportunities and help with treatment. I wanted to raise money for ages, but because of my physical health I can't do the popular marathons or skydives, so I turned to the one thing that has always been with me throughout every moment; my art.”

Add to her fundraising efforts, by visiting justgiving.com/CharlotteCreePainting/.